Why I Lift Weights and Jump on a Trampoline So I Can Crochet Better (Yes, Really.)
Okay, I need to tell you something that I didn't expect to be true about myself.
I work out — like, genuinely, consistently, sometimes-annoyingly work out — so that I can crochet better.
I know. I KNOW. But stay with me, because once I explain it, you're going to look at your yoga mat and your hook set in a whole new way.
Here's the honest version: I'm someone who loves to move. I lift weights. I jump on my rebounder while watching the Kardashians (no shame, full commitment). I do yoga. I lace up my Brooks for a run. And I also spend a significant portion of my life with a crochet hook in my hand, building something beautiful, one stitch at a time.
For a long time I thought those two parts of my life existed separately. Fit girl over here. Cozy crafter over there.
Then I started noticing something. The weeks I moved my body consistently? My crochet sessions were longer, more comfortable, and more productive. My posture was better. My hands didn't ache. My shoulders didn't scream at me after an hour of working. I had more energy to actually sit down and create.
The connection isn't a coincidence. It's biology. And today we're talking all about it.
✨ My Actual Fitness Favorites (That Keep Me Crocheting Pain-Free)
These are the exact products I use and love — and yes, some links are affiliate links, which means I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thanks for supporting The Wellness Flow!
JumpSport Fitness Trampoline Rebounder — my absolute ride-or-die. I jump on this while watching the Kardashians and it's genuinely the most fun cardio I've ever done. Full review below.
👟 Brooks Ghost Running Shoes — my go-to for walks, runs, and cardio days. The cushioning is unreal and my joints thank me every single time.
🏋️ NOBULL Weightlifting Shoe — my lifting shoe. Flat, stable, zero drop. These and the Brooks are doing completely different jobs and I'll explain exactly why below.
🧘 Gaiam Premium Yoga Mat — thick, non-slip, and it goes everywhere with me. Morning yoga before I pick up my hook is a non-negotiable.
🏋️ Bowflex SelectTech Adjustable Dumbbells— the weight set that changed everything. One set, all the weights, takes up zero space. Perfect for a home gym that also has to share square footage with yarn storage.
The Part Nobody Talks About: Crochet Is a Physical Activity (Kind Of)
Here's something the wellness world doesn't talk about enough: crocheting — especially long sessions — puts real, consistent demands on your body.
Think about what's actually happening when you crochet:
Your neck and upper back are flexed forward, often for an hour or more at a stretch
Your shoulders are internally rotated and slightly elevated (hello, tension)
Your wrists and forearms are doing small, repetitive motions on a loop
Your hip flexors are shortened because you're seated
Your core is doing very little, which means your spine is unsupported
None of that is a crisis on its own. But over weeks and months and years of crocheting? It adds up. The crafters who stay comfortable and mobile long-term are the ones who counterbalance those patterns with intentional movement.
That's exactly what my fitness routine does. And I didn't plan it that way — I just accidentally built the perfect crochet maintenance program.
My Fitness Routine (And Why Each Piece Matters for Crochet)
🪃 Rebounding: The Cardio I Actually Do
Let me tell you about my rebounder obsession.
I bought my JumpSport Fitness Trampoline because I was looking for cardio that didn't make me want to quit after seven minutes. And y'all. Y'ALL. I found it.
I jump on this thing for 20-30 minutes while watching the Kardashians (currently rewatching from the beginning for reasons I cannot fully explain) and it genuinely doesn't feel like working out. It feels like being a kid who happens to also be improving her lymphatic drainage and cardiovascular fitness.
Here's why rebounding is specifically amazing for crafters:
It's low-impact. Rebounding absorbs up to 87% of impact force compared to running on pavement. Your joints — the same ones that are going to be crocheting for the next 40 years — are protected.
It improves circulation. Those repetitive crochet movements restrict blood flow in your hands and forearms. Cardio counteracts this by getting your heart pumping and your circulation moving. Better circulation = less hand fatigue = longer, more comfortable crochet sessions.
It's lymphatic gold. The up-and-down movement of rebounding is one of the best ways to stimulate your lymphatic system, which doesn't have a pump of its own (unlike your cardiovascular system). Translation: less inflammation, less puffy joint feeling, faster recovery from repetitive motion.
I am not exaggerating when I say the JumpSport rebounder is one of my top five purchases of the last few years. If you want the full breakdown of my rebounding routine, I actually wrote a whole separate post on it — [check it out here: Why I'm Obsessed With My JumpSport Rebounder (And You Should Be Too).]
👟 Why I Have Two Different Workout Shoes (And Why It Matters)
Okay, this is a thing I feel genuinely passionate about and I don't talk about it enough.
I own both Brooks Ghost running shoes AND NOBULL training shoes — and they are not interchangeable. They are doing completely different jobs, and wearing the wrong one to the wrong workout is like using the wrong crochet hook for the wrong yarn weight. Technically possible. Actively working against you.
Brooks Ghost — My Running and Cardio Shoe
Brooks Ghosts are built for forward movement. They have:
High cushioning to absorb impact with every stride
A heel-to-toe drop (the heel sits higher than the toe) that propels you forward
Flexibility in the sole so your foot can move naturally through a run
I wear these for running, walking, rebounding, and any cardio where I'm moving forward and need my joints protected. They are cloud-level comfortable and my knees have never been happier.
When I'm lifting weights, I switch to my NOBULLS. Here's why this matters:
Lifting shoes need to be the opposite of running shoes. You want:
A flat, firm sole with zero cushioning (cushioning under your feet during a squat or deadlift creates instability — you're essentially trying to balance on a sponge)
A low heel-to-toe drop so your weight stays in your heels
A wide, stable base so your foot doesn't roll
Wearing running shoes to lift is one of the most common mistakes I see, and it genuinely affects both your performance AND your injury risk. Your Metcons are the difference between a squat that works your glutes and a squat that wrecks your knees.
Two shoes. Two jobs. Non-negotiable.
🏋️ Weight Lifting: The Reason My Posture Doesn't Betray Me
Strength training is the single best thing I do for my crochet longevity. Full stop.
Here's the problem with crocheting without building any opposing strength: you are repeatedly loading your body in a forward-flexed, internally-rotated position. Over time, this shortens your chest muscles, weakens your upper back, rounds your shoulders forward, and creates the classic "tech neck" that's behind so much chronic pain in women our age.
The solution isn't to stop crocheting. (Obviously.) The solution is to build the muscles that pull in the opposite direction.
Specifically, I focus on:
Rows and pull movements — these strengthen your rhomboids and mid-trapezius, the muscles between your shoulder blades that get chronically weak from forward posture. Every row you do with your dumbbells is counteracting every hour hunched over your hook.
Shoulder external rotation exercises — crocheting puts your shoulders in internal rotation. External rotation exercises (band pull-aparts, face pulls, Cuban presses) directly counterbalance this.
Core work — a strong core supports your spine when you're seated for long periods. This is the difference between crocheting for 20 minutes before your back hurts and crocheting for two hours because your body is actually supporting you.
Wrist and forearm strengthening — light dumbbell wrist curls, reverse wrist curls, and grip strengthening keep the small muscles in your forearms strong enough to handle repetitive hook work without fatigue or strain.
I do all of this at home with my Bowflex SelectTech adjustable dumbbells. The fact that they go from 5 to 52.5 lbs in one set and take up about the same space as a large tote bag means they fit perfectly in the "real woman's home" reality where your gym shares space with your yarn stash.
🧘 Yoga: The Non-Negotiable That Ties It All Together
If lifting builds the strength that protects my crochet posture, yoga is what keeps everything loose enough to actually move.
I roll out my Gaiam yoga mat most mornings before I pick up my hook — even if it's just 15 minutes. Here's what I focus on specifically for crochet:
Wrist stretches and mobility — these are non-negotiable. Cat-cow wrist circles, prayer hands, reverse prayer, wrist flexor stretches. Your wrists take the brunt of crochet work and five minutes of mobility keeps tendinitis from becoming your villain origin story.
Hip flexor openers — low lunge (crescent pose), pigeon, figure-four stretches. Sitting for long periods locks your hip flexors short. Opening them up restores the natural curve of your lower back and makes seated crochet sessions way more comfortable.
Chest openers — anything that stretches across the front of your chest and biceps counteracts the forward-rounded posture of crocheting. Camel pose, heart-opening backbends, doorway stretches. Your future shoulders will be so grateful.
Neck and upper trap release — slow, deliberate neck rolls and stretches for the levator scapulae (the muscle that runs from your neck to your shoulder blade and carries ALL of your stress, physical and emotional). This is where crocheters hold tension like it's a hobby.
A thick, grippy mat like the Gaiam makes all the difference for comfort, especially when you're doing anything on your knees or lying down. Non-slip matters more than you'd think when you're trying to hold pigeon pose and also mentally arguing with yourself about whether you need to frog that last row.
Putting It All Together: My Actual Weekly Routine
In case you're wondering what this looks like in real life and not just in theory — here's a typical week for me:
Day
Movement
Crochet Benefit
Monday
30 min rebounder + upper body weights
Shoulder and upper back strength
Tuesday
Yoga (20-30 min)
Wrist mobility, hip opening, chest release
Wednesday
Run or walk in my Brooks
Circulation, cardiovascular health
Thursday
Lower body weights + core
Posture support, spine stability
Friday
Rebounder + stretching
Lymphatic flow, full-body loosening
Saturday
Yoga or rest
Active recovery
Sunday
Rest
Crochet guilt-free in full relaxation mode
I'm not rigid about this. Life is full and flexible and sometimes Sunday is three loads of laundry and leftover pizza on the couch. But this is the framework, and it works.
The Real Talk Section
Here's what I want you to hear if you've read this far:
I'm not working out because I hate my body. I'm not chasing a number on a scale or punishing myself for the wine and the pasta. I'm moving because I love what my body lets me do — and one of those things is sitting down at the end of a long day, picking up my hook, and creating something beautiful for hours on end without pain.
Movement is how I take care of the instrument. Crochet is how I play the music.
And the Kardashians on the rebounder is just how I make it sustainable. We all have our systems.
Your Turn
Do you work out? Do you notice a difference in how your body feels during crochet sessions based on how active you've been? I genuinely want to know — drop it in the comments below.
And if you're a crafter who's been ignoring the fitness side of things because it feels like a separate world from your cozy hobby life — consider this your sign. You don't have to train like an athlete. You just have to move enough to keep doing the things you love, for as long as you want to do them.
That's it. That's the whole philosophy.
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If this post made you laugh or made you think, share it with a friend who needs a reason to move their body today. And if you're new here — welcome to The Wellness Flow, where we talk about crochet, wellness, and building a life we actually love. Grab a hook and stay a while. 🤍
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase through my links, I earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. I only recommend things I genuinely use and love.